Seduced by Danger (5 page)

Michael struggled to draw in a deep breath as she let her gaze continue upward until she met his. Her river-blue eyes caught and held his, let him sink into their depths until he thought he might actually drown.

Then she sank to her knees in front of him and put her hands on his legs, spreading them so she could settle between them. His breath caught and held until her head dipped down and she wrapped her mouth around his cock.

He sucked in air as if she’d punched him in the gut but the sensations she evoked weren’t painful. Pleasure surged through him, making his balls tighten and his muscles clench. His eyes closed and his hands latched onto the edge of the mattress as she sucked on the tip as if it were a lollipop.

“Cara…”

Her tongue stroked over the tiny slit then swirled around the top, bathing it in wet fire. He struggled not to move, not to thrust into her mouth and force her to take him all the way to her throat.

Her hands stroked along his thighs, moving closer and closer to his cock and balls with each upward glide. And each time her hands moved, her mouth slid farther down his shaft.

Her fingernails scraped lightly at his skin, making his skin tighten until it felt too small for his body. His balls ached and he wanted to beg her to put him out of his misery. His lungs worked furiously as she took her time, making sure each centimeter of his hard flesh was soaking wet before moving down to the next few centimeters.

With an effort, he forced his eyes to open and looked down. Her sable hair flowed down her back and over his thighs, the texture like silk against his skin.

Her head sank farther, her lips finally reaching the base of his cock. She increased the suction, making him moan as heat flashed through his body, making his cock jump in her mouth. Before he could do it himself, she pulled back just enough to get her fingers around the base to ring him, tightening until he eased back from the edge of orgasm.

But she still didn’t release him from her mouth. Instead, she let his shaft slide out completely then went back down in one fast slide. She tortured him for several minutes as he hung onto his control by a thread until she finally lifted her head.

And smiled at him.

That was all it took to break him. With a groan, he reached for her, pulling her up and twisting to lay her flat on her back on the bed. He sealed his mouth over hers and thrust his aching cock into her wet pussy.

They broke the kiss to draw in shuddering breaths, but he couldn’t stop to absorb the sensation. He started to pump, slow and deep, even though his body wanted to nail her to the bed.

Yes, she was wet and ready for him but he planned to repay her for some of the torment she’d inflicted on him.

He pulled back out, slowly, making her moan. Making his lips curl back from his teeth in pure male aggression. He wanted more of that sound. Wanted her to make it only for him.

And he wanted to watch her.

After his next inward thrust, he lifted his upper body until he could sit back on his heels, his hands on her hips making sure he kept his shaft lodged firmly inside her.

She stayed on her back, arms over her head, looking like any man’s hottest wet dream. Her breasts, larger than he remembered, now filled his palms to overflowing. He cupped them, squeezing, rubbing his thumbs over the tight nipples then pinching them until she moaned. Her lips remained parted and her eyes narrowed down to slits to watch him.

He played with her breasts until her hips started to move in a circular motion on his cock, trying to get some clitoral stimulation. He ran his hands down the sides of her body to her hips, holding her still.

“Not yet, Cara. Don’t move, baby. I swear I’ll take care of you.”

“Then do it, Michael. I want you to move.”

Instead, he moved her, sliding her away from his body until the tip of his cock pulled free, springing up. Instead of diving right back in, he rubbed his cock on her labia, letting her moisture coat it, letting the head bump against her clit. She moaned again and tried to squirm closer but he held her too tightly.

After a few more passes, he finally took his cock in hand and aimed it back into her body, pulling her forward again until he was seated tight. The angle allowed a deeper penetration but not enough clit action for her.

So he pulled her off and flipped their positions, him on his back and her on her knees above him. He nearly came at the smile on her face.

She took her time repositioning herself over him, straddling his waist and setting her hands low on his chest to steady herself. Or just torment him as her nails dug into his sensitized skin.

When she had her knees set on either side of his hips, she trailed one hand down his stomach to wrap around his cock and pull it straight into the air. With her gaze on his, she stroked him, slow and tight, rubbing her thumb over the tip and spreading the moisture seeping from it.

Heat flashed through his body and he grabbed for her hips as he reached his breaking point.

“If you don’t fuck me soon, Cara, I’m gonna lose it.”

“So lose it.” She shrugged one shoulder, the sexy motion making her breasts bounce and his tongue nearly fall out of his mouth. “Haven’t you figured out that’s what I want?”

She wanted him to lose control? Wanted him to become an animal only interested in sex?

“Cara—”

She placed her fingers on his lips, stopping his words as she positioned her body over his and began the slow, teasing slide down his shaft.

The urge to grab her hips and control her movements nearly overwhelmed him as she encased him in the sleek warmth of her body. She sank down onto him, let gravity join them.

Gods, she felt incredible. She was the only woman he’d ever felt anything for except lust. Her scent sank into his lungs and lust tore into his gut as she rose up then settled back down. Next time, she did it a little harder, a little faster.

And he felt his control slip away. His hands grabbed for her hips on their next downward slide, jerking her down harder, making them both gasp at the rush of sensation that tore through them.

“Harder, Michael,” she sobbed. “I need you to do me harder.”

The last string on his sanity snapped.

Grabbing her hips, he fucked her hard and fast, controlling her movements.

She gasped in pleasure, her head falling back until her hair brushed along his thighs, winding him higher. And it still wasn’t enough.

“Bend over, baby,” he rasped. “Let me suck on you.”

Her expression one of bliss, she did exactly what he wanted, leaning forward to put her hands on his shoulders, bringing her breasts close enough to get his lips on, her hair enclosing them like a curtain.

He sucked her nipple into his mouth, not bothering to be too careful because she showed every sign of liking it rough, something he’d never allowed himself to be with her. He let his teeth graze the tip as he pulled away, letting her moan fire his blood even more.

He was burning from the inside out, his cock so hard it felt like iron. But he knew he was about to explode.

And he wanted her to go first.

Slipping one hand from her thigh, he slid two fingers against her clit and tweaked it. She moaned again and convulsed around him, her orgasm causing her to cry out his name.

And sending him over the edge in a blaze of heat so fierce, he thought he felt flames along his skin.

Chapter Four

A hazy gray light outlined the shades in the bedroom when Cara woke.

She didn’t move, didn’t want to wake Michael. He needed the sleep.

The sex last night and again this morning had been amazing but probably ill-advised. The poor man had died and been revived only two days ago. They should’ve taken it a little easier.

But a year without him, without any sex at all, had made her burn for him even more. Did he think that’s all she wanted from him? Just sex?

She really needed to get out of bed before she decided to turn him over and start again.

Aron
had to be awake and was probably running Sal ragged. Then again, she didn’t think anything fazed Sal. Who was apparently having an affair with a goddess.

At least that was the undertone she’d picked up. Now, she could be wrong but…

Sliding out from under the arm Michael had wrapped around her waist, Cara managed to get off the bed without disturbing him. She stood for a moment, staring at him, tracing every harsh line of his face, every sleek line of his body.

She loved him and last night he’d taken the first step toward making a future with her and
Aron
by agreeing to accept help.

A
querciola
and a
Mal
. Her parents were probably wringing their hands in
Aitás
. Was she fooling herself? Would there be a happily-ever-after for them? Or would this all explode in their faces?

Since she had no answers, she slipped on yoga
capris
and a t-shirt, not bothering with underwear. She’d spent so much of her life without it, she’d gotten used to going commando. Which really was a stupid saying…

Walking down the stairs, she heard the high-pitched voice of Elmo and the giggle of her son along with the lower, huskier laugh of a woman.

Another female voice said something and finally she heard Sal laugh, which set off
Aron
again.

Since one of the female voices sounded like
Hinthial
, she immediately dropped into a curtsy when she reached the TV room.

And nearly fell over in shock when she realized
Hinthial
wasn’t the only goddess in the room.

The living Barbie doll curled up on the couch with Cara’s son on her lap gave a wry laugh as Cara’s knees nearly brushed the floor.

“Ladies, welcome. I…”

Hell, what did you say to goddesses besides beg their assistance?

Nortia
, Etruscan Goddess of Fate, sat on the couch holding her son. The blonde bombshell waved off anything else Cara might have said with a careless hand. “Don’t just stand there, hon. Come on in. Sit down. We’re learning about colors today, aren’t we,
Aron
?”

Hinthial
glanced up at her from the floor where she was working the crossword puzzle in the local daily paper. Sal sat on the chair behind her, a cup of coffee in his hand, reading the sports section.

If she hadn’t known who each of the players were, Cara might have thought she’d dropped into a Norman Rockwell painting, albeit one from another dimension.

“There’s fresh coffee, babe.” Sal barely gave her a glance before returning to his paper. “Fresh-baked muffins in the warming drawer in the oven.”

“Definitely try the apple cinnamon,”
Nortia
encouraged. “Those were yummy. You need to give me that recipe, Sal.”

“Yeah, like you’re gonna bake.” Sal snorted. “Just put in an order,
Norty
, you know I’ll make them for you.”

Okay, now she’d fallen into the Twilight Zone.

“I’ll just go get some coffee,” she said, stopping only briefly to brush a kiss on
Aron’s
head. She didn’t linger because she didn’t want to obstruct
Nortia’s
view of the TV.

The little goddess had clear blue eyes, golden-blonde hair and features worthy of a movie star, not to mention the body of a hot twenty-year-old. And she was giggling over
Snuffleupagus
and talking to
Aron
as if they were best buddies.

No doubt about it. Somehow, Cara had wound up in the Etruscan version of the Twilight Zone.

After she poured herself a cup of coffee, she took a muffin from the drawer and sat at the kitchen table, wondering, for some strange reason, how all this would seem to an
eteri
.

Flesh-and-blood deities, half-goat men, women who incited lust in the men around them and needed sex to live.

The
eteri
doctors would lock her away in a little white room somewhere, feeding her antipsychotic drugs and pudding.

Nortia
was right though. The muffins were fantastic.

Well, of course, she was right. She was a goddess.

“That doesn’t mean we’re always correct.”

Cara quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and went to rise, but
Hinthial
waved her back into her seat and took one across the table from her.

“In Sal’s home, we don’t stand on ceremony,”
Hinthial
said. “There’s a time and place for all the ritual…just not here. Sal’s is a sanctuary for everyone. Those deities who choose to visit here are treated like everyone else. Some of us actually enjoy it. Aren’t Sal’s muffins amazing?”

Cara took a deep breath and nodded, wondering if she could make small talk with a goddess.

Even though she and Lacey had been brought up far from the Etruscan center here in Reading, their parents had passed on their knowledge and the Etruscan traditions to them.

They’d told Cara and Lacey about
Uni’s
Temple, hidden behind
Marelli’s
Trattoria
on South Sixth Street, and about
DownBelow
, an amphitheater that looked like a miniature Coliseum built under a strip club only blocks away from the temple.

Much of the Etruscan magical population had settled here in Reading two centuries ago when they’d left Italy, where the oppressive Catholic Church had tried to wipe out their entire civilization. Even though they’d still had to hide their power and their temples, they’d been able to maintain their customs and rituals.

And custom dictated you didn’t shoot the breeze with a goddess.

“You have a very precious son,”
Hinthial
continued. “Very special.”

There was something in
Hinthial’s
tone that made Cara lift her gaze to meet the goddess’s.

“Yes, I believe he is,” Cara said. “But you’re talking about something else, aren’t you?”

Hinthial
nodded, her dark eyes somber. “Yes. I’m sure your parents told you you’d never have children, true?”

Dread settled like a wet, heavy blanket on Cara’s shoulders. “Yes. But when I got pregnant with
Aron
, I knew they had to be wrong.”

Hinthial
shrugged. “To my knowledge, there have been exactly four children born to
quercioli
. Including
Aron
.”

Cara let that settle into her brain before she took a sip of her coffee to moisten her dry mouth. “Four children. In the entire history of time.”

Hinthial
nodded.

Cara shook her head. “What happened to them?”

Awful, horrible images invaded her thoughts, the kind mothers had nightmares about. Her hands started to shake and she had to set the coffee cup down before she spilled it.

Hinthial
reached over the table to take her hand. “Nothing awful. Truly. Forgive me, I’m not explaining this correctly.” The goddess grimaced. “I’m not used to… Well, that’s doesn’t matter. What does matter is that
Aron’s
birth is a sign. And because of this, those of us who know about
Aron
have guarded that knowledge like a precious secret. Most of the gods and goddesses know nothing about his existence and those of us who do would prefer to keep it that way if we can.”

“But why? What’s going to happen to him?”

Hinthial
smiled. “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. What I do know is that he will fulfill his destiny. I just can’t tell you what that is because I don’t know.”

“So we should go into hiding? Like my parents did with my sister and me?”

Hinthial
shrugged, managing to make the motion look elegant. “That’s one option, though probably not a solution you or he would be happy with.”

Cara noticed
Hinthial
had yet to mention Michael in all of her talk about
Aron
. “Then what do you suggest Michael and I do?”

Hinthial’s
mouth curved again in a knowing smile. “I suggest Michael continue on his quest to rid the world of Franklin Bennett so that your secret might be safe. And…I suggest you go with him because there were some unexpected consequences to Michael’s healing.”

Fear made Cara’s stomach turn over. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. And he’ll continue to be fine. As long as
you
remain in close proximity.”

Cara frowned. “I don’t understand.”

The goddess sighed, shaking her head. “You and Michael, your energies are linked now. Because of your involvement in his revival, your
arus
and his have linked in a way that closely resembles being blood bound. Except for the way Michael’s
arus
appears to weaken the farther apart you are physically.”

Shock blanked Cara’s mind to everything but two words—blood bound.

That phrase was the holy grail for Etruscan lovers. They considered the act of mingling blood during sex and tying their souls together for all eternity a sacred gift. Not something forced on a person without their knowledge or consent.

Blessed Mother Goddess, Michael was going to freak. He’d feel trapped. He’d have to stay with her for all the wrong reasons and he’d—

“Cara, dear. Breathe.”
Hinthial’s
sharp tone snapped Cara back to attention. “This isn’t as dire as you might imagine. Yes, it’s going to require some adjustment from both you and Michael, but I don’t think it’s a cause for panic.”

It was on the tip of Cara’s tongue to blurt out something smart-ass but she bit it back at the last moment. Probably best not to mouth off a goddess.

Still, Cara’s stomach felt like someone had stomped all over it. “Thank you for your guidance, Lady. I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

“But you’re still worried.”
Hinthial
sighed. “I suppose I can’t blame you. I know you feel that everything is so unsettled right now. And you’ve already had more than your share of trials.”

Cara lifted her gaze to
Hinthial’s
. Did the goddess see the bitterness that still thrived in her soul? Had
Hinthial
heard Cara’s prayers during the long years of her and Lacey’s imprisonment by the
Mal?
Had the Etruscan deities cared what happened to two young girls?

Hinthial
glanced away then, as if she knew exactly what Cara was thinking and was upset by it. “Despite the wishes of some, we are not all-powerful or all-knowing. There have been many changes over the millennia. The
eteri
rule the earth now. It’s a world where magic can be explained away as a parlor trick and anyone who claims to be different is labeled crazy and subjected to drug therapy.”

Hinthial
rose from the table, a dark expression on her face. “Maybe we haven’t been as careful of our race as we should have been. There are no answers, not clear-cut ones anyway. Maybe there never were.”

Then
Hinthial
patted on her hand and left the room.

Cara finished her cooling coffee, her mind a riot of thoughts and fears, almost too much for her to bear. She needed a little space, a little quiet to collect her thoughts.

And there were way too many people in this tiny house.

The clop, clop of Sal’s hooves signaled his approach and she turned to watch him.

“Never a dull moment around here, is there?” Her dry tone made Sal’s eyebrows lift as he stopped by the table.

“Not typically, no.” He tapped his fingers on the table, as if thinking. “Too much for you today?”

“Just a little.”

“
Wanna
go on a field trip, babe?”

She shrugged. “Where would I go?”

“How about an all-expenses-paid trip to
Uni’s
Temple? No ritual today. Should be quiet.”

“What about
Aron
?”

Sal snorted. “Hon, there are two goddesses watching his every move. They’ll have him worn out in no time. And Michael’s here. Nothing will happen to the boy while you’re gone.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I think I’d like that.”

* * * * *

Cara materialized at the back of the temple, not really knowing what to expect.

She’d never been in
Uni’s
Temple. The small village where she and
Aron
had lived for the past year held their weekly rituals to the Great Etruscan Mother Goddess outside in the center of the village. Even in the depths of winter, that area had been a temperate zone that never dropped below sixty-five degrees or went above eighty-five.

That area was nice. This…this was spectacular.

She knew she was still in Reading, not even a mile from Sal’s house. Yet she felt like she’d been transported to Tuscany three millennia ago when the Etruscans still ruled their ancestral lands.

From the street, the building looked like any other three-story brownstone.
Marelli’s
Trattoria
occupied the front half of the building. The restaurant had been a Reading institution for forty-five years. Before that, the building had been apartments. Of course, only Etruscans had lived there, keeping the secret of the temple.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, this neighborhood had been populated almost solely by Italian immigrants though that wasn’t the case today. Still, the Etruscans managed to keep the temple safe with the help of the magic inherent in the earth.

A
ley
line ran beneath the city, which was what had drawn the Etruscans to settle here when they’d moved from Italy and set about rebuilding their civilization.